New Year's Eves
by Fairy Dell
Summary: New Year's Eve is a special time for Wally and Artemis. A collection of one-shots exploring their various celebrations together. Contains spoilers for season 1 and 2 finales. Spitfire.
1. First

**Disclaimer: If Young Justice was mine, season 2 would be called "The Adventures of Wally and Artemis", not "Invasion".**

* * *

Their first New Year's Eve was the most dramatic one.

Artemis and Wally spent the day fighting against their mentors and the rest of the Justice League, freeing them from mind control, saving the world, and kissing for the first time.

It was the kiss that shocked everyone the most.

The team didn't notice at first. They were all distracted. M'Gann and Superboy were, predictably, too wrapped up in each other to notice much of anything else. Robin was reeling from Zatanna's boldness, wondering if he could manage another kiss without anyone growing suspicious of his not-so-little crush, and Kaldur was blushing furiously. All of a sudden, Robin caught sight of Wally and the girl he thought Wally hated and yelped.

The rest of the team turned, wondering what could have caused the Boy Wonder to freak out after the day they had already had. A horrified Robin pointed a shaking hand toward Wally and Artemis, who were oblivious to their surroundings and still kissing.

Kissing.

M'Gann started squealing excitedly, causing the two to pull apart. Both turned red.

"Hey guys," Wally said weakly. "How's it going?"

"You were. . . she just. . . and I. . . what. . . Kissing!" Robin stuttered.

"Yeah I noticed you getting a little action too, Boy Wonder." Artemis spoke with her usual sass, but a slight blush lingered on her cheeks.

"When did this happen?" Connor whispered to M'Gann. She shrugged, but didn't seem too concerned with the details. She was just glad that Wally had found someone else to obsess over. Oh, and Artemis was happy. That was important, too.

Everyone stared at Wally and Artemis, who started shifting uncomfortably. Wally adjusted his grip on Artemis.

"Drop me and we'll all find out if you can run as fast with an arrow through your foot," she threatened.

Wally gulped, but seemed to realize it was her way of dealing with all the unwanted attention. And he had to admit, as much as the great Wally West loved being in the limelight, it was a little much at that point.

"Think we can make a break for it?" he whispered.

She nodded and he took off at high speed. Connor, who had overheard their conversation (thank you super-hearing), tried to stop them, but even Superboy couldn't outrun the fastest boy alive.

Wally sped around the Watchtower, looking for a place where he and Artemis could talk without being disturbed. He finally stopped in the gym. He set Artemis down gently and took a few steps back, pulling off his hood and goggles.

"So," he said. "What's new with you?"

Artemis cocked an eyebrow. "Really? That's what you're leading with?"

"Yeah, I know, it's not my best line. But I don't want to use lines with you, Artemis. I just want to be honest."

"And honesty is admitting you should have kissed me a long time ago?"

"It is the truth."

"Why didn't you? I mean, I get that you wanted Roy here, not me, but you really seemed to hate me when I first joined the team. Why?"

Wally ran a hand through his hair. "You sure aren't making this easy, asking all the tough questions first. I guess part of it was wanting Roy around. But you kind of intimidated me. All the girls I've met have been giggling high schoolers. Well, except for the ones who were villains, but I have a strict no-dating-bad-guys-or-girls policy. None of those other girls really understand the evil in the world that we see on a daily basis. They see me as a class clown, someone to laugh at, not as anyone serious. You were different. I'm kind of used to girls just taking my jokes and laughing, either at the jokes or at me. You told me when my jokes sucked. You didn't put up with my cheesy attempts at wooing M'Gann and told me that no girl would actually fall for that."

Artemis rolled her eyes at the memory of some of his more creative ways of trying to win M'Gann over.

"I never told anyone this, but that mission we went on not long after you joined the team, the one with Dr. Fate? Kent Nelson said something to me. He saw the two of us and I think he knew that we'd end up together. I think we reminded him of him and his wife. He told me 'Find your own spitfire, one who won't let you get away with nothing.' I didn't want to admit it, but I knew he meant you. You were the only girl I'd ever met who told me what she thought without holding back." Wally smirked. "Plus you were hot and hot girls have always intimidated me."

Artemis punched him in the arm. "Can't you be serious, for once?"

"Nope! But you wouldn't have me any other way. You're serious enough for the both of us. Probably too serious. You need to lighten up." Wally paused. "Why did you never like me?"

"Oh, you're going to kick yourself for this," Artemis said with smile. "I thought you were adorable when I met you. I had just finished meeting the team and everyone was so solemn about the whole ordeal. Then you came running in dressed for a day at the beach, yelling about a party and tripping over your own feet like some overgrown puppy. I was pretty interested in you until you started fawning over M'Gann."

"Why did that bother you so much? Besides making you jealous, of course." Wally managed to dodge her fist, but moved closer to her.

"You're an incredibly confident person, Wally. It might come off as cocky sometimes, but for the most part, it's refreshing to see someone be sure of himself. But the minute you were around M'Gann, it was like you were trying to be someone you weren't. You were trying to be the person she would be interested in." Artemis scowled. "You should never change yourself for another person. I found it hard to respect you because of that."

Wally nodded. "I can understand that. I guess that explains why we got along so well that time we lost our memories."

Artemis laughed. "Yeah, except for the fact I thought my father wanted me to kill you."

"It's not like you would have, even if that's what he did want."

Artemis was silent.

"I mean, you wouldn't have, right?" Wally laughed nervously. "Seriously, babe, you wouldn't actually kill me, would you?"

She finally laughed. "Oh, I'd kill you. Not because my dad told me to, but if you hurt me, I'll kill you in a heartbeat. And did you just call me babe?"

"No?"

"I'm pretty sure you did. Pet names like that are a privilege reserved for boyfriends only, Wally West."

"Well I guess there's only one thing for me to do, then."

"Oh? What's that?"

"Convince you to let me date you, cause I'm not going to stop calling you babe."

"And how do you plan on doing that, Baywatch?"

"Now, now, pet names like that are a privilege," Wally parroted, "reserved for girlfriends only." He wrapped his arms around her. "Lucky for you, there's an opening with your name on it. If you want it, the position is yours."

"Are you asking me out?"

"Yup. We can go out for pizza, watch a movie, beat up bad guys, whatever you want. Just please say yes."

"That's a very tempting offer."

"Did I mention we can keep kissing? Because that is one of the perks of dating Wally West. Kissing yours truly."

Artemis laughed. "How could I possibly say no?" she asked sarcastically.

"Meet me at the mountain tomorrow at 5?"

"It's a date."

Wally leaned in close to kiss her again.

"Best New Year's ever," he whispered.

* * *

 **I ship them so much.**

 **This is actually the first fanfiction I ever wrote. But I decided to save it for, you know, New Year's Eve. I'll be updating this story every day from now until January 31st, so you're welcome.**

 **Special thanks to star-eye for beta-reading and getting me hooked on YJ in the first place.**

 **Catch ya later, lovelies!**

 **-FD**


	2. Second

**Disclaimer: If I owned Young Justice, this would be cannon, not a fanfiction.**

* * *

Their second New Year's Eve was the laziest one.

Artemis and Wally had begged Kaldur and Batman for the night off to celebrate their first anniversary. Surprisingly enough, they had agreed. Well, they had agreed so long as the two promised to return as soon as possible should an emergency arise.

Luckily for them, that didn't happen.

Wally showed up at Artemis' apartment at 8, driving instead of running to stay inconspicuous. Well, as inconspicuous as Wally West could be. He walked up the stairs and knocked on his girlfriend's door.

Artemis's mom opened it. "Hello Wally! It's wonderful to see you again. Come in, Artemis is almost ready."

Wally walked into the apartment and bent to kiss her cheek.

"Happy New Year's Eve, Ms. Nguyen. Do you have any plans for the evening?"

"No, I'm hoping for a quiet evening here. I'm just happy I don't have to worry about Artemis tonight."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll still manage to worry about me," Artemis said, entering the small living room.

"What is it you always say to me?"

"A mother always worries, it's her job," Paula said with a smile. "Well, I'll worry a lot less knowing you aren't fighting anyone tonight. Besides, Wally will be there to protect you."

Wally laughed. "Believe me, Ms. Nguyen, Artemis can handle herself without my help. But I'll be sure to keep an eye on her."

The two women smiled at the ginger teen's comment, knowing it was completely true.

"So are you finally going to tell me where we're going?" Artemis asked.

"Nope. But I will tell you to bundle up. You might get cold."

Artemis rolled her eyes, but picked her warmest coat, scarf, and gloves. She hugged her mom then grabbed her boyfriend's hand, pulling him out of the apartment.

"Someone's excited," Wally teased, starting the car.

"Hey, we've been dating for a year now. That's the longest I've ever dated anyone. It's kind of a big deal for me," Artemis said a little shyly.

Wally smiled and grabbed her hand, interlacing their fingers. "It's a pretty big deal for me too."

They chatted about school and their teammates as they drove. After about twenty minutes, Wally pulled into a crowded parking lot. The two got out of the car and Wally led Artemis toward a stadium.

"Really? You brought me to watch sports? My father is Sportsmaster. What made you think this was a good idea?" Artemis whispered.

Wally just smiled and dragged her the rest of the way. Once they got inside, they stood in line with everyone else. But people weren't buying tickets when they reached the window.

They were renting ice skates.

Artemis watched, a smile growing on her face, as Wally told the man at the window their shoe sizes and took the skates he handed over. She bit down a squeal as they walked through a door and saw the ice rink spread out in front of them.

"I know it's not a romantic dinner or anything, but Robin mentioned this place a couple weeks ago and it just seemed like something fun we could do together." Wally shrugged. "I figured we could skate for a few hours then grab a pizza or something before heading back to your place to ring in the New Year with your mom."

Artemis' cheeks were getting sore, she was smiling so much. She cut off Wally's rambling with a kiss. "This is perfect."

They sat on one of the benches and laced up their skates. Wally stood up first, but he stood too fast and almost face planted on the ground outside the rink. He managed to catch himself on the rail around the edge of the rink. Artemis laughed so hard she couldn't stand.

Wally pouted at her. "Hey, it's not my fault! I'm used to having my whole foot on the ground, not balancing on these tiny things. I'd like to see you do better."

Artemis stopped laughing and a determined look came over her face. She gracefully stood up, stepped onto the ice, and pushed away from the edge.

Where she promptly fell flat on her ass.

She and Wally both froze before cracking up, neither able to breathe normally because they were laughing so hard.

"That was beautiful," Wally wheezed.

"Well at least I managed to get on the ice before I wiped out," Artemis retorted.

Wally maneuvered his way onto the rink next to her. He held on to the rail with one hand and held the other out to help her up. Artemis cautiously pulled herself to her feet, joining Wally on the railing. Before they could try skating again, a black blur whizzed by, screeching to a stop just past them.

"Artemis!" a boy called out. "Let's take another picture!"

Before she could protest, the black-haired boy was at her side, pulling out his seemingly ever-present camera and taking a picture of the three of them.

"Oo, is this your boyfriend?" he asked.

"Yes Dick, now get lost."

"Have fun!" The boy disappeared in another black and blue blur, leaving Artemis and Wally blinking in confusion.

"What the heck was that about?" Wally asked.

"That's Dick Grayson. He goes to Gotham Academy with me and for some reason he loves to take pictures with me. He's never explained why; he just says that someday I'll laugh about it. That still hasn't happened. The little twerp just won't leave me alone."

"You need me to talk to him, tell him to back off?"

Artemis laughed. "Easy there, Baywatch. He's like, twelve, so he's not exactly competition. Besides, he's Bruce Wayne's ward, so he's kind of a big deal. You don't want to mess with him."

"I see your point. Should we try skating again?"

Artemis nodded and they cautiously pushed off. Artemis managed to go fairly straight, but Wally immediately started flailing, trying to keep his balance. He grabbed onto her and they fell over in a tangled mess of limbs.

The rest of their experience wasn't much better. They laughed as they fell over time and time again. They saw Dick a few more times as he sped past, even skating backwards a few times, but they ignored his attempts to show off.

"Oh, I feel like I just fought Blockbuster," Wally moaned on their way back to the car.

"This was your idea, boy genius, you aren't allowed to complain," Artemis said, rubbing her own sore spots.

"What do you say we grab some burgers, fries, and shakes for us and your mom?"

"Sounds perfect."

"This is so boring," Wally complained as they finally reached the car. "How do you deal with walking all the time? It takes so long to get anywhere."

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in. We can't all be the fastest idiot alive," Artemis said, laughing affectionately.

"I'm willing to shoulder the responsibility of that title, for the greater good," Wally said seriously.

"Oh, of course." Artemis wiped a tear from her eye. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed so much. "God, I love you, Wally."

She didn't realize he had stopped walking until she had gone a few steps farther. She turned and saw him frozen in place.

"What's the matter?"

"Do you mean that?"

"Mean what?" Artemis thought about what she had said and turned bright red. "Oh, that! Well, it was really more of an expression than anything-"

"I love you too," Wally interrupted, looking rather flushed himself.

They stood there for a few seconds, both wearing silly grins and neither sure what to do next.

"So, burgers?" Wally asked, more than a little flustered. He fell back, as he always did, on the safest topic he knew: food.

Artemis smiled. "Sure."

 _Best New Year's Ever,_ she thought.

* * *

 **And we all know that Robin/Dick is totally stalking them in parking lot, documenting the whole thing to show everyone else later.**

 **Sadly, my beta has abandoned me for Disney (but I don't blame her one bit) so the chapter might not be as finely tuned as normal.**

 **Also, I've been rewatching Young Justice in the name of "research". It's such a good show!**

 **Catch ya later, lovelies!**

 **-FD**


	3. Third

**Disclaimer: Young Justice is not mine. It's probably for the best.**

* * *

Their third New Year's Eve was the craziest one.

The team had expanded, so much so that the mountain felt crowded. For once, no one was on a mission so all the teens were able to get together to celebrate.

M'Gann had begged and pleaded with them until Wally and Artemis agreed to stay and spend New Year's with the other teenaged superheroes instead of going on a date.

"I know it's your anniversary," she said, "but we really want to have a party with everyone here. It will help the new members feel like a part of the team and we'll all get to know each other better."

The two exchanged a look.

"We can always celebrate on our own tomorrow," Wally said. He winked at the Martian girl. "You know I can never say no to you, beautiful."

Artemis glared at him. "What was that?"

"Nothing!" Wally called as he sped away, laughing.

"You know he doesn't mean it," M'Gann said. "He just does it out of habit."

"Oh I'm aware." Artemis smirked. "But he doesn't need to know that. It's good for him to be reminded every now and then that I won't let him get away with anything. Even if it's good-natured flirting with you."

Artemis made her way to the living room, where everyone else was gathered to celebrate the end of another year. She smiled at the sight of her friends, old and new. She hadn't been around as much the past few months. She was a senior and because there were more heroes, she was able to spend more time focusing on school and less time going out on missions.

"Hi, I'm Wonder Girl!" a chipper voice piped up next to Artemis. She turned and saw a girl who looked to be a year or two younger than her. She had blonde hair and bright blue eyes. "But you can call me Cassie when we're off duty. I joined up a few months ago, but I don't think I've met you yet."

"I'm Artemis. I haven't been around much recently."

"Is that your hero name or your real one?"

"Both."

"I like it! Were you named after the Greek goddess? I love Greek mythology. I'm an Amazon, just like Wonder Woman. She's the one who brought me here and I just love it! This team is just the best."

"Yeah, it really is," Artemis said, a little dizzy from the girl's energetic outburst. "How are you settling in?"

"Oh, everyone has been so great! They really make me feel like I fit in, you know?"

 _Not really,_ Artemis thought, recalling the team's reaction when she first joined them.

Suddenly, Cassie gasped. "Who's that?"

Artemis followed her pointing finger and nearly burst out laughing when she saw the new girl was looking at her boyfriend. Her boyfriend who was stuffing his face and choking on the too-big-mouthful.

"That's Kid Flash."

"I thought it was! I wasn't sure without the mask and uniform, but he's the only one with red hair. Well, except for Red Arrow, but he isn't really a member of this team, right? Oh, I'm such a big fan of Kid Flash! Should I go introduce myself?" Wonder Girl asked nervously.

"Go ahead, Wally's a nice guy. And he loves meeting fans." Artemis smiled as the girl squealed in excitement. She ran towards Wally, slowing to a walk before she reached him. The two spoke for a moment and Cassie extended her hand, which Wally shook. Then Artemis' eyes narrowed as the younger blonde pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, laughing at whatever corny joke Wally had made.

"Is Cassie flirting with Wally?" M'Gann asked as she walked up.

"I think so."

M'Gann eyed Artemis warily. "Are you going to shoot her? Because I really don't think that would be conducive to the whole team bonding thing we're going for."

Artemis laughed. "No, it's fine. She probably doesn't know we're dating. I'm just curious how Wally will react once it finally gets through his thick skull that she's interested in him."

"Yeah, that might take a while."

Artemis watched, laughing every now and then, as Cassie attempted to catch Wally's interest. He kept talking to her with polite, if a little confused, interest in the newest team member. Every minute or so Cassie would step closer to him and Wally would unconsciously back away. Still, it didn't seem to occur to the boy, who once titled himself a ladies' man, that Wonder Girl was into him.

After about an hour, Artemis started to get annoyed. "Look, it doesn't surprise me that Wally hasn't figured out what's happening," she said, crushing her plastic cup, "but you'd think she'd take a hint."

"He's just a nice guy," M'Gann said. "She's taking his manners as interest in her."

"Well, I'll just have to let her know he's off limits." Artemis cracked her neck before starting across the room.

"Artemis! Long time no see, my friend," Robin said as he intercepted her. He too had been observing the awkwardness growing between his best friend and Wonder Girl, but he was rather enjoying it. So he took it upon himself to distract the girlfriend who was slowly becoming angrier.

He always did take on dangerous jobs.

"Robin, now really isn't a good time."

"Have you heard the news? I'm not going to be Robin for much longer. I'm moving up in the world."

That caught Artemis' attention. "I hadn't heard that. Are you going to get a new name like Roy did? Are you still going to be part of the team?"

"You can't get rid of me that easily. I'll be sticking around for sure. I'm getting a new name and a new costume, too." He leaned in close. "Don't tell anyone, but I think I'm going to go by Nightwing. Pretty traught, right?"

"Well, it's no Dark Knight, but it'll do." Artemis tried to walk past him, but he blocked her path. She glared at him. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to stop me from knocking some sense into that boyfriend stealing newbie."

"She doesn't know he has a girlfriend," Robin reasoned. "Please don't scare off our new recruit. Besides, you don't really want to get on Wonder Woman's bad side. You know how Wally feels about you. Trust him."

"Yeah, well at this rate she's going, she's going to end up kissing him before he realizes she likes him." She glanced at the clock. "Crap. It's almost midnight. She might actually kiss him."

"It's almost midnight," M'Gann yelled from the front of the room, "so if you want a New Year's kiss, grab someone special!"

Artemis brightened up as she saw Wally heading her way. Unfortunately, his fangirl was close behind.

"Do you have anyone to kiss at midnight, Wally?" Cassie asked as they reached Artemis and Robin, batting her eyes. Artemis nearly gagged. The girl had actually batted her eyes.

"Course I do," Wally said, a little confused.

"Who's the lucky girl?"

"Artemis, who else?" He wrapped an arm around his girlfriend's waist, kissing the side of her head. "Babe, have you met Cassie?"

"Yeah, we talked a little earlier. She said she was a big fan of yours." Artemis leaned into Wally's side and tried to suppress the triumphant smirk that threatened to take over her face.

Cassie's smile faltered. "I didn't realize you had a girlfriend. Oh look, there's Kaldur! I've been meaning to ask him about something." She hurried off.

"That was weird," Wally said. "She seemed a lot happier before."

"Yeah, when she thought she had a chance with you. You really are slow sometimes, Kid Snail," Artemis told her confused boyfriend.

"What do you mean?"

Robin rolled his eyes. "Cassie has a crush on you, dude. It's kind of obvious."

Wally's eyes grew wide. "You're kidding me, right?" Robin and Artemis just looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Seriously? I used to be able to tell when girls were into me."

Artemis chuckled. "No, you just assumed every girl was into you."

"Well I was right about you," Wally said.

"Yeah, you got lucky."

"No," Wally said, pulling her close, "I got lucky that you liked me in the first place."

"Corny line, West," she whispered, lacing her hands behind his neck, "but it's one of those things I love about you."

"I love you too, Crock," he said, kissing her nose. "I'm glad we came tonight. Best New Year's ever."

* * *

 **Halfway done, and in my opinion, the best chapters are yet to come!**

 **Love and thanks to my star-eye, who didn't beta this chapter but still managed to help me work out ideas from half a country away.**

 **Catch ya later, lovelies!**

 **-FD**


	4. Fourth

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. It's probably a good thing.**

* * *

Their fourth New Year's Eve was the angriest one.

They were fighting.

It was their biggest fight to date and one that everyone feared would tear the two apart permanently. Wally wanted to quit the team and go to college. Artemis understood that. What she couldn't understand was that he expected her to do the same.

It had been a bad year all around. Tula had died. Kaldur had gone crazy, blaming Young Justice and joining their enemies. Nightwing was forced to step up to lead the growing team, but it was clear to everyone that he'd rather not.

Neither Wally nor Artemis even considered going to the team's annual New Year's party. Their fight had been dragging on for almost three weeks and they didn't want to pretend everything was better between them or answer questions about what they had decided. Because it was their anniversary, they tried to put their anger aside and spend the evening together celebrating.

Easier said than done.

It started off well enough. They were a little awkward, but happy to forget the tension between them for a time, however short it may be. Eventually they were teasing and laughing like nothing was wrong.

It was on the way back to Wally's house from the restaurant that things started to go wrong.

"I had a really great time tonight," Artemis said, wrapping an arm around Wally's waist as they walked.

"Me too. It felt. . . normal. I liked it."

Artemis tensed. "Don't start that again Wally, please. You promised not to bring that up tonight."

"I'm sorry, Artemis, but think about how great it would be if our lives were like this all the time. We'd never have to worry about if one of us is going to get hurt or die on the job. God, Artemis, I don't see why this is so hard for you to understand!"

"I do understand, Wally, that's not the problem here." Artemis pulled away from him.

"Then what is?" Wally sighed. "Look, I've made a decision. I'm leaving the team, whether you come with me or not. And I don't know if our relationship can survive only one of us being a hero."

"I can't believe you! What the hell is this, an ultimatum? Quit the team with you or we break up? How can you do this to me?"

"I don't know what else to do!" Wally ran his hands through his hair. "It's not like you've been helpful. All you've done is yell at me, not talk about it. What is it you want from me?"

"Consideration!" she finally yelled. "Not once since you brought up the idea of leaving have you just asked me what I want to do. Not once in three weeks, Wally! You just told me I should quit with you."

Wally's eyes widened.

"You know how I feel about people trying to control me," she whispered, hugging herself.

Wally stopped walking and looked around. Seeing no one nearby, he picked her up and sped away. They stopped in a park, empty and lit by a few flickering streetlights. He put her down on a swing, claiming the one next to her.

Artemis kicked at the mulch, pushing her swing back. "I'm sorry I never just told you, but I guess I stupidly wanted you to figure it out on your own." She smirked. "I should have figured Kid Oblivious would need it spelled out for him."

"No, I should have asked you. I just. . . I know how much being a hero means to you. And I knew it would take a lot of convincing to get you to leave that I just jumped in without asking why you'd want to stay."

Artemis shook her head. "Still missing the point, Kid Doofus. Ask me what I want to do."

Wally looked confused, but was eager to end their argument. "Artemis, I'm thinking about leaving Young Justice. I'd really like it if you came with me. I know you don't want to, but do you think you could?"

Artemis stopped swinging and stood in front of her nervous boyfriend. "Don't make assumptions about what I want. I've been thinking about leaving lately too. I was just waiting for you to bring it up. I thought you'd never want to leave. I mean, you wanted to be a hero so badly you recreated the accident that gave your uncle powers so you could have them too. I thought you'd end up like him, a hero for the Justice League for the rest of your life."

"Wait, you want to leave too? So I've been wasting our time trying to convince you to do something you already want to do? I swear, I will never again assume anything about you, I will just ask."

Artemis grabbed Wally's hand and pulled him up, kissing his cheek.

"So are we okay?" she asked.

"Course we are, babe. There's no way I'd let you go so easily."

They held each other tight, glad to finally have their fight behind them.

"Are we really doing this?" Artemis whispered. "Are we really going to become civilians? Stop risking our lives every other day and just be like everybody else?"

"If that's what you want," Wally reassured her.

"It is," she said.

"We'll tell the team tomorrow?"

"Sounds good. They'll be glad we aren't fighting anymore. But I will miss them."

"We'll keep in touch. It's not like we're leaving Earth or anything."

Suddenly, fireworks erupted over the Central City skyline.

"It must be midnight," Wally said.

"Happy New Year's, Wally. I'm glad we made up."

"Best New Year's ever."

* * *

 **Fun fact about this story: it was originally going to be a one-shot with six parts, but I decided to make each part a chapter. But I was worried I wouldn't have enough content for each chapter. Silly me.**

 **Stilling missing my beloved star-eye, who texts me reactions to these chapters after I post them and makes me feel better about myself.**

 **Catch ya later, lovelies!**

 **-FD**


	5. Fifth

**Disclaimer: I own quite a few things, but Young Justice and its characters are not any of them.**

* * *

Their fifth New Year's Eve was the strangest one.

It was their first New Year's Eve as civilians.

They had broken the news to the rest of the team on New Year's Day that they had decided to leave the life of a hero. They started scaling back on missions even more and by July, the two were completely retired.

They had started college in August, living off campus in an apartment together. Their parents had questioned that decision, but eventually agreed that even though they had stopped fighting crime, it still might not be best to room with civilians who knew nothing about it, just in case someone with a grudge came looking for them.

Wally surprised Artemis by 'kidnapping' her early in the evening and speeding her off to New York City to see the ball drop. Neither had ever seen anything like it before. It was spectacular.

"We are totally coming back here next year," Wally said, in awe of the spectacle.

"It's strange thinking that far ahead, isn't it?" Artemis asked.

"What do you mean?"

"When we were on the team, did you ever seriously think ahead? Like, more than a week?"

Wally thought a moment then slowly shook his head. "I guess not. I mean, I had a vague idea of what I wanted for the future, but the job usually took up most of my thoughts."

"Same here. But now that we're out, I don't know. I've been thinking about the future more. Like years from now."

"Yeah? Anything specific?"

"No, just possibilities. It feels like there are suddenly so many of them."

"I know what you mean. But will you promise me something?" Wally asked.

"Depends on what the promise is."

"Promise that whatever possibility you choose, you'll still keep me around."

Artemis smirked. "Is that your attempt at a proposal? Because it sucked."

"What? No! I just meant. . . that is. . . I only want-"

Artemis laughed. "Calm down, I know what you mean. And I think I can promise that I'll at least give you fair warning if I ever decide to chuck you." She winked and kissed his cheek.

"Gee thanks." Wally rolled his eyes. "But you know, I see possibilities too. And every one has you in it."

The two of them joined the stream of people leaving Times Square, taking their time and enjoying the atmosphere of celebration. Every now and then, one of them would tense, the paranoia of their hero days not completely faded. Silently, they each resolved that they'd try harder during the coming year to fully embrace their role as civilians, as normal college students.

They parted from the crowds at an alleyway, where Wally could pick her up and speed her home away from prying eyes. He tried to use his powers as little as possible, in the name of being normal, but there were definitely times when they came in handy. Like taking Artemis to watch the sun set in California. Or to eat lunch in Paris.

He stopped just inside of Gotham city limits, putting her down and weaving their fingers together. They strolled through the streets, meandering toward her mom's apartment, where Artemis was staying over Christmas break.

"I'll miss you," Wally said suddenly.

"Classes start back up in five days, dork. We've gone that long without seeing each other before."

"I know. But I've gotten spoiled, living with you. I want to be able to see you, talk to you whenever I want."

"That's why they invented cell phones," Artemis said dryly.

Wally shook his head. "It's not the same and you know it. I can't do this." He pulled her into his arms, holding her tight. "Or this." He rested his forehead against hers, gazing into her eyes. "Or this," he whispered before kissing her softly.

"It's only five days apart. We have the rest of our lives to be together." She stepped away and started walking again. "Besides, if you miss me that much, you can speed over in less than ten minutes."

"You're right. As always."

"Wait, say that again. I want to record it so I can remind you of that when you're stupid enough to argue with me."

Wally laughed, knowing it would indeed happen. Probably more than once, and definitely sooner rather than later.

"You know, as tough as it was, I'm glad we left the team," he said.

"Yeah, me too," Artemis whispered, her eyes distant. She shook off whatever thoughts were haunting her. "Our first anniversary as civilians. Kind of relaxing."

"Best New Year's ever?" he asked with a crooked grin. It had become something of a catchphrase for the two of them, though it was true. Every New Year's he spent with her only seemed to top the ones that came before it.

"Best New Year's ever."

* * *

 **You guys are going to hate me for the next chapter, I know it. But I don't care! (that much. . . that's a lie, I care.)**

 **star-eye keeps sending me pictures from Disney, the little troll. Still love ya, though!**

 **Tomorrow's the big one. The last chapter of New Year's Eves and the end of this little drama. Not the end of my writing, though! *shamelessly hopes readers will check out my other stories, even though they aren't YJ fics***

 **Catch ya later, lovelies!**

 **-FD**


	6. Sixth

**Disclaimer: If I owned Young Justice, the last ten minutes of season two wouldn't exist and I wouldn't be forced to write this chapter to stay in canon.**

* * *

Their sixth New Year's Eve was the hardest one.

Wally wasn't there.

Artemis found herself surrounded by people, but she felt lonelier than ever. Ollie and Diana had decided to throw a huge party, knowing how hard it would be for her. All the holidays were, but New Year's was _their_ day and everyone knew it.

Most of the old team was there, as were members of the Justice League, though the Flash was noticeably absent. Artemis wondered if Ollie had purposelessly left him out to make things easy for her, or if Barry decided to stay away.

Even Roy and Jade had come with their daughter, though everyone was wary of the one-time villainess.

M'Gann brought plates of slightly burned cookies. Superboy insisted that Wolf come, even though the party was being held in Ollie's apartment, where pets were not allowed. Nightwing, however, hadn't returned from his mysterious leave of absence. No one knew where he was (well, Batman probably did, but he wasn't sharing that information).

Artemis sat at the table, her chair against the wall. She watched everyone else do their best to be normal, cheerful.

Kaldur sat next to her, offering her a cup of Ollie's "special" punch.

"How are you?" he asked, knowing the importance New Year's Eve held for Artemis.

"Awful," she said bluntly. "Ollie and Dinah had to tie me up and drag me out of my apartment to get me here."

"Good," he replied, just as bluntly. "This is not an easy day and you should not act otherwise."

"Kaldur, I want to thank you," she said quietly. "For not babying me, for being there for me, for . . . I don't know, just understanding I guess."

He smiled. "It's not like you to be sentimental."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, I think I'm allowed to be this once. I know that he . . . that Wally would appreciate how you've been here for me these last few months. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"We share a unique bond, Artemis. The time we spent undercover made us rely on each other completely. I know you better than anyone else, except Wally." His hands clenched. "And unlike many of the others, I know the pain you feel."

They sat, as they often did, in companionable silence, knowing they didn't have to talk for the other to understand.

Across the room, M'Gann was trying to convince Conner to dance. Ollie apologized to Dinah, having invited more people than she planned for. Artemis watched them all, feeling strangely detached.

"We had this running gag," Artemis said suddenly, biting back tears. "Starting with that first time we kissed. Every New Year's we spent together we called the best one ever. I'm scared that last year will really be the best New Year's I get. This is definitely the worst one so far."

"Then to honor his memory, try your hardest to keep it that way."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't let your grief overwhelm. You may never have a better New Year's than the ones behind you, but you can make sure that you never have a worse one. For Wally's sake, live your life to the fullest."

"Are you going to tell me to move on, like everyone else has?" she asked bitterly.

"I wouldn't dare. But your life doesn't have to stop because he's gone. It will be different, of course, but it can still be full. You have friends and family who care deeply for you. Live for their sakes, if nothing else."

"He's right you know," a quiet voice purred in Artemis' ear. Jade sat in the chair next to her, unceremoniously dumping her daughter in her sister's lap. "Besides, you can't go all sulky and dark on me. You're my go to babysitter."

"Gee thanks," Artemis deadpanned. "It's so nice to know you care."

"Hey, you show love in your way, I show it in mine."

"Your way is usually violent. Not exactly the kind of love anyone is eager to accept."

"Roy seems happy enough with it."

"Ew! Spare me the details of your marriage, please. I think we can all agree that there are a few screws loose in his head."

Jade smirked. "But it's such a pretty head." She stood up and went to look for Roy, leaving Lian with her favorite, and only, aunt. The small girl succeeded in bringing a smile to Artemis' face.

"You see?" Kaldur asked. "There are still reasons to be happy."

Artemis nodded, tickling her niece and laughing with her. She didn't think her broken heart could ever be whole again, but it could still beat. For the sake of those she had left, she would keep moving forward.

 _Worst New Year's ever,_ she silently vowed.

* * *

 **Happy New Year?**

 **So when I started this story, I hadn't watched Young Justice in months. I've realized through "research" (aka re-watching episodes) that my math might be off on how many New Year's Wally and Artemis got together. I also might be wrong on a few other details. Please don't hate me.**

 **I hate writing super sad stuff, so this is less grief-focused and more healing focused. Also it's short, because my heart can only handle so much pain.**

 **But hey, it's done! Thanks to star-eye and all those who left reviews encouraging me. Ya'll are the best!**

 **Catch ya later, lovelies!**

 **-FD**


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